Legalectric

Minnesota State Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, holds a milk carton with a likeness of Gov. Tim Pawlenty and tells members of the House, Wednesday, April 26, 2006, at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., that Gov. Pawlenty has been missing in action on a new outdoor baseball stadium for the Minnesota Twins. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid) Stolen from: www.in-forum.com/…/full_photo.cfm?id=154623

Never one to mince words, hence a joy to deal with, here’s a great Letter to the Editor from Rep. Tom Rukavina, equally applicable down here in R.W. with the same endorsement — Rep. Bill Hilty has a great one against Kiffmeyer and the Duluth News endorsement of her too (click on the link for both) and for some reason, he forgot to blast for Forum’s endorsement of “Osama Bin Awada” his favorite Auditor:

Pawlenty no choice for Northeastern Minnesota

I have one question for the Duluth News Tribune editorial staff: What planet are you people living on? How could you possibly endorse Tim Pawlenty, a governor who has been a disaster for Northeastern Minnesota? (â??Retain Pawlenty for governor,â? Oct. 29)

Pawlentyâ??s cuts to local government aides have cost Duluth $15 million since 2003; close to $11 million was cut from Range cities. These cuts have led to statewide property tax increases of over $2 billion.

The governor gutted more than $49 million from the 21st Century Mineral Fund, which helps diversify our minerals based economy.

The governorâ??s â??no new taxâ? pledge increased fees by almost $750 million and his so-called â??health impact fee,â? otherwise known as a cigarette tax, adds an additional $893 million that is being paid by hard-working Minnesotans. And, why would we believe the governorâ??s promise to fund the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center? Didnâ??t he promise to do that before?

Add to this the governorâ??s cuts to education and health care and his lack of funding for transportation, and itâ??s hard to understand why anyone would want four more years of the same.

Itâ??s clear that the owners of the Duluth News Tribune, Forum Communications Company, headquartered in Fargo, N.D., have taken control over their local papers. In fact, Iâ??ve read the editorials in other papers owned by the Forum and these â??localâ? editorials are almost identical when it comes to pushing for Pawlenty.

I know the people of the Northland are too intelligent to listen to the paperâ??s new owners out in Fargo. Obvious, their loyalty to a dysfunctional Republican governor is greater than their commitment to fairness for the people of Northeastern Minnesota. I urge all of you to vote for Mike Hatch for governor. I can guarantee you that on his worst day, heâ??ll do more for Duluth and the Range than Pawlenty could ever do for us in a lifetime.

Tom Rukavina
Virginia

The writer, a Democrat, represents District 5A in the Minnesota House of Representatives and is a candidate for re-election.